


Irremovable Stains

by UnicornPopcorn14



Category: One Piece
Genre: AU, AU isn't really something, Angst, Comfort, Conqueror's Haki (One Piece), Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, It just helps building the fic, Mention of Death, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma, character injury, light humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:33:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28118502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornPopcorn14/pseuds/UnicornPopcorn14
Summary: What if the crew managed to pick Luffy up from the Heart Pirates after Marineford? What if Luffy didn't get the chance to master his Conqueror’s Haki? And what if the young captain ACTUALLY hurt his crew with said technique due to traumatic call backs?How would the small pirate crew help him through it all?
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Irremovable Stains

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been _months_ since I’ve written something! Woah. Feels like ages! :0 If you’re new, hi, I’m Pea and I’m extremely lazy. :) If you’re not, I just wanna say sorry for not continuing my unfinished fics –yet-! I got multiple excuses, but it’s safe to say that _I’m not abandoning anything_! Things are gonna need a little bit more time, that’s all. I hope I’m not disappointing anyone, ‘cause I’m trying my best to recover and bounce back. :)<3
> 
> Even though I’ve been a fan of One Piece for six years now, the thought of writing a fanfic on it had never crossed my mind before. But lately I’ve been drawn into One Piece angst a bit too much, and after re-watching Ace’s death (and ofc bawling my eyes out like a maniac ಥ‿ಥ), I couldn’t simply let an opportunity of a good fic idea pass that easily.
> 
> That said, enjoy~

“Guuuuuys!” The ship is startled by the sudden call of the young captain; the whole crew instantly drops what they’re working on to hurriedly stomp on the lawn covering their vessel’s deck.

“WHAT? WHAT IS IT?!” Nami’s the first to squeal in panic, asking for everyone.

Luffy turns around with a smile from his position on the Sunny’s head, “Nothing important.” A burst of anger was about to unleash from everyone planted on the deck, before Luffy’s next statement, “Just saw some Marine ship coming close…” He shrugs nonchalantly as if it isn’t a big deal.

Upon hearing this, the group of eight tilt their heads slightly, to indeed find a Marine ship just a few miles away.

“Baka!” Sanji snaps half-heartedly, “If it was something that dense you might as well give us heart attack next time there’s something important!”

“I admit I almost had a heart attack myself,” Brook clarifies, “But, wait a minute, I don’t even have a heart! Yohohohohoho!”

Luffy chuckles, “Sorry, sorry!” He takes an unrealistically high leap from the head, landing on the lawn between his nakama. Robin gives him a light hair ruffle while smiling, and they all turn serious once they hear a sound from the other side.

“Strawhat Pirates! This is the Marine’s Captain! We suggest you surrender, and no one’s getting hurt!” The Captain finishes speaking on his den-den-mushi speaker, and instantly orders the soldiers to hold fire.

“Heh,” Zoro scoffs, “Who does he think we are?”

“Fools, I suppose,” Usopp smirks, preparing his Kabuto.

“This is gonna be superrrr easy!” Franky hums while cracking his metallic knuckles.

“Piece of cake.” Luffy says, taking a step while cracking his knuckles in front of his chest, “Leave them to me.”

“But… Luffy-”

Luffy turns to the young doctor, assuring him with his trademark grin, “I’ll be fine, Chopper. I missed kicking butt, anyway.”

Chopper is hesitant, but doesn’t protest any further as he watches Luffy spread his arms beside him.

The Marine ship is now close enough for the Captain to notice that the Strawhats aren’t going down without a fight, “IT’S STRAW HAT HIMSELF! FIRE YOUR NEWLY-DESIGNED KAIRŌSEKI BULLETS!”

The Strawhats still for a moment, before PANICKING. The bullets fly into the air a second too late for them. Luffy’s the first to scream a “YABEEEE!” with his eyeballs popping out, suddenly regretting his decision of being on the front, his first instinct is to run away as fast as possible. As well as Robin, Brook and Chopper who unconsciously backed as soon as their ears caught that cursed word.

Sanji and Zoro swear under their breaths simultaneously, despising this cheap tactic of winning. The Marine Captain sure knows how strong the devil-fruit users on board are, which only serves against them. The duo, with Nami, Franky and Usopp attempt to shield their friends; while the rest –excluding Luffy- try their best to help.

“Luffy!” Zoro calls his captain without turning around, a slight smirk on his face, “You sure don’t wanna handle this anymore?”

Luffy’s still running with no shame, and beams widely, “Nope!”

“Shitty Sencho!” Sanji insults, “You owe us one!”

Luffy chuckles brightly, “Shi shi shi shi sh-” A burst pain catches his breath, making him trip over himself with a shocked expression.

"LUFFY!"

...

His name repeatedly echoes in his mind, more like far away desperate screams, and he attempts to sit on his knees while muttering a few “ow ow ow ow…”. He can feel the seastone consuming him from the inside-out, the blood running down his arm in a hot flow. Face crunched in pain, Luffy instinctively holds his shoulder with a hiss. Figuring out what’s going on around him right now was relatively difficult, but can already feel several concerned eyes landing upon him. His nakama…

No! He doesn’t want to worry them! He doesn’t want to distract them! But that doesn’t help with the pain spreading inside him excessively, making him groan and hunch his back further, and further, until his forehead meets the lawn that’s supposed to be beneath him. He is just…

Helpless…

Useless…

Worthless…

_Again._

He rapidly shoots up with a gasp as if an electric shock has flown into his body, even though his rubber body was immune to such thing. He’s trying to regain himself, trying to muster a bit of strength, anything. His hands are supporting him beneath him, and he notices red. Red… on the lawn. Red… from his palm. _Red…_

He shakily tears his hand from the sticky substance underneath it, his vision blurred and unfocused. His breath hitches at the red decorating his palm, staining it, _covering it_. And suddenly, everything around him is quiet, his shaky breaths the only audible enough in his ears. The tiny orbs in his eyes are about as shaky as the hand he’s barely lifting, and he forgets the pain in his other one, attempting to heft for them to be side-by-side.

And he remembers…

**_Blood_ **

Blood, coating each palm. Blood, dark and growling at him. Blood, that was not his. Blood, that reminded him of how much of a failure he is. That proved how weak he is, how useless he is, and how he failed. How he failed the only person who he went through hell and back to save. The second time he helplessly watched one of them die, mortified in place, unable to do anything.

Blood of his own brother, in his arms, seconds before he died.

Tears well up in a fast pace, his form trembling slowly while whimpers escape his throat. Not again… Not again, NOT AGAIN!

“No…” He whispers, “No, no, no…” Tears land steadily on each hand.

…

“MIL FLUER!” Robin hurriedly grabs every marine soldier, including the Captain, from their heads, “CLUTCH!”

The Strawhats are in extreme fright, each one finishing their opponents off angrily and without rest. After Luffy got shot, they all went into a terrifying mode, with Chopper transforming into “Jumping Point” and landing on the opponent’s ship rashly, even with the kairōseki bullets still firing. Robin and Brook also didn’t seem to care after their captain got injured, Franky stayed on the ship, while Zoro, Sanji, Nami and Usopp only went feral. The Marine ship was quickly losing soldiers, and the Captain was long gone from Zoro’s blade and Sanji’s swift leg.

Once making sure that there are no survivors, the crew wastes no time to return back to Sunny, and immediately swarm around their wounded captain.

“LUFFY! OI, LUFFY!” Zoro snaps at the hyperventilating young boy.

“Luffy, can you hear us!?” Chopper frantically asks.

“No…” A whisper comes out.

“Luffy…?” Nami slowly questions, feeling something off.

“No, no, no…” It’s growing louder.

The crew is now sure that their captain can’t hear them, as tears are running down his cheeks and onto his trembling hand. Panic quickly rises into each and every member.

“I know what’s going on…” Usopp shakily utters, “That’s… H-He’s…”

“Ace-san.” Brook helps the sniper out.

Luffy's unseeing eyes shoot open, “No, NO!" He gasps a few times, _"NOOOOOOOOOOOO_!”

The ship vibrated intensively. And for a second, the world turned blue around them. An unseen wave struck each and one of them with an unimaginable force, compelling them all to the ground against their will. Zoro, Sanji and Robin watch as the rest of their nakama instantly drop out cold, while they barely hold themselves seconds before tumbling down.

…

He doesn’t know why, but Luffy suddenly recalls where he is.

His shaking didn’t subside, nor did his hiccups, but he manages to get a grip of reality for a moment.

He wishes he hasn’t.

His crew is scattered around him. Dead or alive, he doesn’t know. There wasn’t any blood, there wasn’t any damage, either. They were just laying there, as if deceased.

“Z-Zoro…? Robin…? N-Nami…? U-U-Usopp…-”

A groan catches his ear, and he sharply turns to see Zoro trying to hold himself before falling flat on the ground.

In a loss of words, and with his adrenaline kicking in, Luffy wearily gets up, injured arm swinging lifelessly in an attempt to reach for the only person that showed some sign of life. He drops on his knees beside him, and shakes his limp body.

“Z-Zoro… OI, ZORO!” He screams, shaking him harder. Nothing. He goes for Nami, same result. Usopp, nothing new. Sanji, Franky, Robin, Brook…

“OI! MINNA!” Luffy was desperately clinging on Zoro’s shirt again, “WAKE UP! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!”

He stands up and looks over to the Marine ship. He’s only greeted with silence. He can’t hear anyone, he can’t see anyone who is capable of doing this. There was no one except him…

_No one except him…_

The horrific realization strikes him, his legs hardly holding him anymore. Staring at his hands once again, he mutters, “D-Did I… do this?”

_Did he just kill his own crew?_

He’s now shaking, hyperventilating, and out of this world. Maybe it’s for the best, since the world is so cruel. So evil. There’s no one left for him. No one. He couldn’t save anyone. He couldn’t protect anyone. Ace was right. He was a weakling who would never become a great pirate.

He died for nothing.

Ace died for _a nothing_.

And he cries.

He cries, just as he cried that day. Just like the time he lost his brother. Just like that.

What else could he possibly do?

…

Zoro slowly comes round, and the first thing he hears is heart-wrenching crying. It’s distant yet clear, and the vice-captain recognizes the tone, the same one he’d been stuck with for almost a year now.

"Luffy..."

Their captain was crying. Defeated. Hopless. And most of all, their captain was _hurting_. It’s more than enough reason for him to push that oblivion away and _GET UP_.

Finally managing to open his eyes, Zoro notices how several other eyes are also starting to pry open, and he can _feel_ the determination shared between all of them. The one that had a set goal of reaching to their captain and comforting him. He can feel it, too, and soon, the eight of them are on their feet, running to their rubber friend. It’s hard, and difficult, and some of them fall a few times along their way, but Zoro finally, _finally_ , reaches him, and wraps his captain from behind in a strong grip.

Sanji’s next. Despite the cook’s hesitation towards affection, he manages to wrap another set of arms around Luffy. Nami then drops just in front of the captain, still weak, but doesn’t wait any further to hug Luffy, too. Usopp clutches on Luffy next, as if his life depended on it. Then Robin, then Chopper, then Franky, then Brook…

A set of sobs follow, all of them sharing Luffy’s feelings, and beating themselves up endlessly. They can’t afford leaving him to his sorrows ever again. Not after experiencing the feeling of reading that cursed title of ‘ _Fire Fist Ace Has Died_ ’. Luffy’s been there for them countless times. It’s time for them to return the favor.

After what felt like an eternity, Luffy finally comes to, and unconsciously wraps his good arm around whoever is hugging him from the front –which is actually Usopp-. He doesn’t seem to be fully awake, yet, and truthfully, he appears as if he’s _barely_ keeping himself awake. The guy lost a lot of blood, after all.

The crew waits patiently, not daring to let go of their slightly shaking captain. Until the first words came out of him, hoarse and shaky, as he looks around and behind him in astonishment,

“G-Guys… A-Are you… Is that r-really you…?”

The eight of them can’t help but clutch harder.

“Yea, Luffy…” Chopper confirms.

“We’re here.” Nami determinedly says.

Some more tears well up in Luffy’s eyes as he declared, “I-I thought I killed you…”

The eight of them gasp inwardly, before Brook yells, “You did not, Luffy-san!”

“In fact, you saved us!” Robin can’t help but lie, yet it’s all for reassurance.

“I did…?”

The rest follow along, starting with the great liar of the crew, “Yeah! Without you, those pesky Marine guys would still be attacking us! You helped us wipe them down, Luffy!” Usopp signals for the rest to ‘ _roll with it_ ’.

“U-Uh… yeah!” Sanji tries, “That’s right, their captain was a monster. I couldn’t take him down myself!”

Luffy’s face lights up.

“Superrrr strong!” Franky stresses.

“Yet you defeated him, Luffy!” Chopper beams.

Even though none of them really knew what Luffy did, they were truly trying to encourage him for his unknown power, rather than scaring him from it.

“Thanks, guys…” Luffy wearily says, “But I can’t let that happen again…”

The rest know why without any hints.

“I hurt you all. I can’t let it happen…”

The ship is emerged in comfortable silence for a few minutes, before Luffy’s body suddenly slackens completely, startling the crew intensively until realizing that Luffy has just gone to sleep. They all let out a collective sigh, slowly letting him go, one by one, then Sanji picked him up to the infirmary for the young doctor to examine him.

**O.P.O.P.O.P.O.P**

“How’s he…?” Chopper is asked the moment he’s stepped out of the med-bay. He looks up at his seven friends in a relaxed expression.

“He’s doing fine. Just needs some rest from the amount of time the kairōseki bullet was inside of him…” Chopper trails.

Sanji calmly picks a cigarette, lights it up and inhales, “He’s gonna be out for a while…” he huffs the smoke out, "Sounds like another peaceful night, then..."

The crew knows what Sanji meant by that. The first weeks since the Marineford incident can be described as hell. Luffy’d been encountering endless nightmares and night terrors, and then forgetting them completely once waking up. Though it was annoying as hell, the crew still pitied their captain to no end. They knew he might hate it, but it wasn’t their fault. Luffy would usually scream his brother’s name in the middle of the night, shaking and crying. And at that time, it was necessary to bring out night shifts for Luffy, to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Usopp had told them that one time, he found Luffy sitting up while sleeping; he was staring at his hands while hyperventilating, and nothing else. When he tried to wake him up, Luffy cried loudly, screaming and trying to wipe his clean hands on the blanket.

And in the morning, Luffy returned to his usual bouncy-self.

The crew had been in so much pressure in these particular weeks, mainly because they couldn’t let Luffy speak to them about something that he didn’t even remember. And they all were well aware that bringing up Ace’s death might lead to worse consequences.

Luffy would also stare at fire unduly, something that Sanji noticed during cooking any meals for them. And when asking him about it, Luffy just smiled and changed the subject.

Whether Luffy was acting stupid or not, it was clear he sensed the panic that rose each time he yelled or laughed loudly. And he could see how much his friends' attitudes changed towards him. They became sort of... gentler and kinder. Nami and Usopp have stopped smacking him like they usually do. Some ruffles in his hair would come from Robin or Zoro, or seldomly Sanji. They knew it was weird for him, and he wasn't used to being treated like that.

"Robin?"

"Hm?" The archeologist hummed while reading her book.

"Do you think I'm weak...?"

The question shook the archeologist, causing her to leave her book immediately and sit down beside Luffy on the bed.

"Why would I ever think that, Sencho-san?"

Luffy frowned, "You're all acting as if I'm fragile. Like I'm gonna break at any moment. And I... hate it. I miss the Sunny being loud and chaotic. I miss getting hit by Sanji and Nami. And I miss running around with Usopp and Chopper over something stupid..." He pauses, "I just... want everything to come back to normal..."

Raobin later shares what Luffy'd said with the others, and it was apparent that they all felt the same way...

But if only he knew...

It was funny. They were practically the ones experiencing Luffy’s night terrors, and not him. His screams would usually wake them all up, shift or not, and they’d all try and assist the one watching him. One method always worked…

Warmth.

They’d all hug him to sleep. Till his breathing turns normal again. It was soothing, not only for him, but for all of them. Sometimes, they’d all decide to sleep in the infirmary with him, even if the room is too small for such thing, they didn’t care.

The nightmares stopped after the fourth week.

Zoro sighs, gripping on his swords, “Do you think he knows what he did back there?”

The seven members shudder simultaneously, “Yeah, that was kinda scary…” Usopp recalls.

“Sencho-san has more power than he realizes…” Robin calmly states while closing her eyes.

Nami turned around, “You know what that was?”

Robin nods, “Conqueror’s Haki. Only a few in the world inhibit such power. The ones I know are Red-Haired Shanks, and Roger’s former vice captain,” She narrows her eyes. “Silvers Rayliegh.”

The seven crewmates’ eyes widened.

“That old man…?” Usopp asks himself slowly.

**O.P.O.P.O.P.O.P**

“Why’re you smilin’, Rayliegh?” Shakky smoothly asks with a cigarette in hand.

“I have a feeling that they’re coming… Real soon…”

Shakky smiles as she puts her cigarette off, “I know…”

**Author's Note:**

> YEYEYEYEYE ! Done in a single night! :D Whaddaya think?? I’ll be happy to hear yall’s feedback!
> 
> Sincerely, UnicornPocorn~


End file.
